NASA’s $1 billion new Mars rover has successfully landed on the red planet after a nerve-wracking ‘six and a half minutes of terror,’ when it broke through the Martian atmosphere and was subjected to temperatures of more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

The InSight rover has been travelling through space for six months, but its long journey ultimately boiled down to a nail-biting few minutes this afternoon as it attempted to plant its feet on the surface.

Its descent started just before 3pm EST (8pm GMT), with helpless scientists waiting on the final word from a pair of Mars orbiters dubbed Wall-E and Eve to confirm touchdown.

Less than eight minutes after breaking through the atmosphere at 12,300 miles per hour, the team confirmed it had successfully made it to the surface, slowing to just 5mph before putting its feet on the ground.

Scientists could be seen jumping and cheering in the control room as they marked the successful landing, with more than a few wiping tears from their eyes.

InSight’s first picture: The Mars rover sent home its first photo (pictured above) minutes after its nerve-wracking descent to the red planet. Its view is a flat expanse called Elysium Planitia. But, InSight will be digging deep into the ground to explore what’s happening beneath the surface

NASA’s $1 billion new Mars rover has successfully landed on the red planet after a nerve-wracking ‘six and a half minutes of terror,’ when it broke through the Martian atmosphere and was subjected to temperatures of more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit

‘The vehicle is reported nominal, this means it’s happy – the lander is not complaining,’ chief engineer Rob Manning said as the team cheered in the control room.

‘It’s going to chug along for the rest of the afternoon on Mars, and continue its activities.’

Experts hope the mission will be the first to unlock geological secrets of the planet’s hidden core, using a probe to dig 16ft (5m) beneath the surface.

A seismometer containing sensors designed and made at Imperial College in London and tested at Oxford University will also examine the impact of earthquakes and meteorite strikes.

The InSight rover has been travelling through space for six months, but its long journey ultimately boiled down to a nail-biting few minutes this afternoon. Its descent started just before 3pm EST, with helpless scientists waiting on the final word from a pair of Mars orbiters dubbed Wall-E and Eve to confirm landing. Many were in tears when landing was finally confirmed

Scientists could be seen jumping and cheering in the control room as they marked the successful landing, with more than a few wiping tears from their eyes

While NASA has numerous Mars landings under its belt, similar attempts have proved a difficult hurdle for many missions.

The Soviet Union never managed to land on Mars, and both attempts by the European Space Agency flopped.

Experts hope the mission will be the first to unlock geological secrets of the planet’s hidden core, using a probe to dig 16ft (5m) beneath the surface. Pictured: An artist’s impression of Nasa’s InSight lander about to touch down on Mars

By contrast, just one of Nasa’s previous eight attempts have failed.

InSight, which blasted off from California in May, will rely entirely on its on-board computer to make last-second landing adjustments.

InSight stands to ‘revolutionize the way we think about the inside of the planet,’ said NASA’s science mission chief, Thomas Zurbuchen.

But first, the 800-pound (360-kilogram) vehicle needs to get safely to the Martian surface.

The InSight probe entered the Martian atmosphere at 12,300mph before an array of 12 thrusters slowed it down to 5mph for a safe touchdown. An artist’s impression of its Mars entry is pictured

This time, there won’t be a ball bouncing down with the spacecraft tucked inside, like there were for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers in 2004.

And there won’t be a sky crane to lower the lander like there was for the six-wheeled Curiosity during its dramatic ‘seven minutes of terror.’

But he noted, ‘Any time you’re trying to land on Mars, it’s crazy, frankly. I don’t think there’s a sane way to do it.’

No matter how it’s done, getting to Mars and landing there is hard – and unforgiving.

Experts hope the mission will be the first to unlock geological secrets of the planet’s hidden core, using a probe to dig 16ft (5m) beneath the surface. A seismometer containing sensors designed and made at Imperial College in London and tested at Oxford University will also examine the impact of earthquakes and meteorite strikes. Artist’s impression pictured

INSIGHT’S THREE KEY INSTRUMENTS

The rover that could reveal how Earth was formed: InSight Rover set for Mars landing on november 26th

Three key instruments will allow the InSight rover to ‘take the pulse’ of the red planet:

Seismometer: The InSight lander carries a seismometer, SEIS, that listens to the pulse of Mars.

The seismometer records the waves traveling through the interior structure of a planet.

Studying seismic waves tells us what might be creating the waves.

On Mars, scientists suspect that the culprits may be marsquakes, or meteorites striking the surface.

Heat probe: InSight’s heat flow probe, HP3, burrows deeper than any other scoops, drills or probes on Mars before it.

It will investigate how much heat is still flowing out of Mars.

Radio antennas: Like Earth, Mars wobbles a little as it rotates around its axis.

To study this, two radio antennas, part of the RISE instrument, track the location of the lander very precisely.

This helps scientists test the planet’s reflexes and tells them how the deep interior structure affects the planet’s motion around the Sun.

Earth’s success rate at Mars is a mere 40 percent. That includes planetary flybys dating back to the early 1960s, as well as orbiters and landers.

The eight-minute time delay with Earth means scientists will be as powerless as the hundreds watching the mission live on TV.

Alongside their sophisticated instruments there will be a good luck charm – a jar of peanuts.

Ever since Nasa ended a run of unsuccessful missions in 1964 while anxious engineers munched on the snack, filling up the jar has been a key stage of each project.

‘That’s one of our traditions,’ said lead engineer Rob Grover.

‘We’ve had a number of successful landings in a row now. But you never know what Mars will throw at you.’

Tucker: Tijuana residents wary of caravan

Fox News

Published on Nov 19, 2018

Tucker: Caravan’s plight is not immigration, but an invasion

Fox News

Published on Apr 30, 2018

Tucker: When you arrive in a country, you don’t wave the flag of a foreign nation. That’s what you do when you invade. Immigration happens with the consent of the host country. What we’re seeing is happening by force.

‘We will close the border permanently if need be’: Trump threatens decisive action unless Mexico deports caravan migrants as hundreds storm border and officers fire tear gas and rubber bullets as ‘rocks and bottles’ rain down on them

President Trump threatens to shut U.S. border with Mexico permanently if migrant caravan is not deported

He called on Congress to fund his border wall, declaring that the caravan is ‘not coming into the USA’

Migrants threw rocks and bottles that hit U.S. Border Patrol agents on Sunday at the San Ysidro Port of Entry

President Trump denied that border control agents fired tear gas on children over the weekend during a confrontation with a group of migrants.

Asked once whether he was comfortable with his administration gassing children, Trump said: ‘They’re not – as you know, they’re not.

‘They had to use [it] because they were being rushed by some very tough people. And they used tear gas,’ he argued. ‘And here’s the bottom line: Nobody’s coming into our country unless they come in legally.’

He insisted again, several minutes later, as he was asked if gassing children is appropriate that his administration hasn’t. ‘We didn’t. We don’t use it on children,’ he asserted.

The denials follow weekend reports that women and children were hit with tear gas as migrants attempted to storm the southern border.

President Trump denied that border control agents fired tear gas on children over the weekend during a confrontation with a group of migrants

Trump then threatened to permanently close the U.S. border with Mexico, saying he’ll take the drastic action if members of a swelling migrant caravan are not deported back to their Central American homelands.

It was not clear whether he had the legal authority to do so and whether he had been advised that he does. He did not respond to question on the issue as he departed the White House on Monday for Mississippi.

U.S. Border Patrol fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets at a group of migrants on Sunday, including families with young children, as hundreds tried to storm the border.

San Diego Sector Border Control chief patrol agent Rodney Scott said Monday morning on CNN that when the migrants approached border fences, they ‘immediately started throwing rocks and debris at our agents, taunting our agents.’

‘And once our agents were assaulted and the numbers started growing – you know we had two or three agents at a time facing hundreds of people at a time – they deployed tear gas to protect themselves and protect the border.’

Carla Provost, the chief of U.S. Border Patrol, told the Fox news Channel that ‘our agents were being assaulted. A large group approached the area and they were throwing rocks and bottles at my men and women, putting them in harm’s way as well as other members of the caravan.’

The confrontation produced chaos and new dangers that prompted U.S. officials to close the crossing between Tijuana and San Diego, stopping everyone in their tracks – including thousands travelling legally between the U.S. and Mexico.

The border reopened Monday morning, but Trump tweeted a stern warning to Mexico: Deport the migrants, a horde that includes ‘stone cold criminals,’ or see the economically critical crossing sealed permanently.

He called for Congress to fund his border wall with Mexico at a time when congressional Democrats are counting down the final weeks before they take over the House of Representatives.

‘Mexico should move the flag waving Migrants, many of whom are stone cold criminals, back to their countries. Do it by plane, do it by bus, do it anyway you want, but they are NOT coming into the U.S.A.,’ Trump tweeted. ‘We will close the Border permanently if need be. Congress, fund the WALL!’

A migrant family, part of a caravan of thousands traveling from Central America en route to the United States, ran away from tear gas in front of the border wall between the U.S and Mexico in Tijuana on Sunday

President Donald Trump threatened to ‘permanently’ close the U.S.-Mexico border if members of a migrant caravan who stormed the heavily guarded fences near Tijuana aren’t sent back to their Central American countries

Border Patrol chief Carla Provost, told the Fox News Channel on Monday that ‘our agents were being assaulted’ – as video played of a caravan member hurling a rock toward the border fence

Rodney Scott, the chief border agent in San Diego Sector Border Control, said Monday on CNN that migrants threw rocks that struck U.S. Border Patrol agents and their vehicles, and that groups of them walked past officers instead of surrendering and claiming asylum

The president waved as he arrived back to the White House with first lady Melania Trump on Sunday night following his Thanksgiving holiday in Palm Beach, Florida; he’s taking a far tougher line than his predecessor, President Barack Obama

News photographers on the Mexican side of the border captured images of Honduran children crying after running away from tear gas in Tijuana on Sunday

U.S. Border Patrol helicopters flew overhead, while officers in California held vigil on foot beyond the wire fence; they fired gas canisters and winds blew the fumes southward toward the advancing crowd

The president’s ultimatum played on TV screens worldwide Monday morning, alongside images of children screaming and coughing in Sunday’s mayhem at the San Ysidro Port of Entry as Border Patrol officers tried to push the surging mass of people back.

The crowd control tactics began when migrants tried to cut a hole in razor wire on the Mexican side of the fence.

Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, told CNN on Monday that Border Patrol was guilty of an ‘overuse of force.’

‘There are women and children out there. Using tear gas in this situation does not seem justified,’ he said.

But Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said she would not put up with the ‘lawlessness’ and threatened harsh punishments for ‘anyone who destroys federal property, endangers our frontline operators, or violates our sovereignty.’

Nielsen confirmed that border personnel were ‘struck by projectiles thrown by caravan members.’ She condemned those responsible for their ‘dangerous’ actions that were ‘not consistent with peacefully seeking asylum.’

Mexico also vowed to deport about 500 migrants who tried to ‘violently’ and ‘illegally’ cross the U.S. border on Sunday, according to the Mexican Interior Ministry.

More than 5,000 of them, mostly asylum seekers, have been camped in and around a sports complex in Tijuana after making their way through Mexico in recent weeks.

Agents at the San Ysidro entry point are processing fewer than 100 asylum petitions a day.

But Scott, the Border Patrol’s chief agent in San Diego, said Monday legitimate asylum seekers are few and far between.

‘What I saw on the border yesterday was not people walking up to Border Patrol agents and asking to claim asylum,’ he said. ‘Matter of fact, one of the groups I watched, one of the groups that several of them were arrested, they passed 10 or 15 marked Border Patrol units … numerous uniformed personnel, as they were chanting, waving a Honduran flag, and throwing rocks at the agents.’

U.S. Border Patrol in San Diego suspended pedestrian crossings at the San Ysidro Port of Entry but reopened it Monday; one migrant is pictured running back away from the U.S. with his face covered

Earlier Sunday, several hundred Central American migrants pushed past a blockade of Mexican police who were standing guard near the international border crossing

Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum on Friday declared a humanitarian crisis in his border city of 1.6 million, which he says is struggling to accommodate the crush of migrants

‘If they were truly asylum seekers, they would have just walked up with their hands up and surrendered. And that did not take place.’

Despite heightened tensions, Mexico said it would not send military forces to control more than 7,000 migrants from a caravan currently amassed at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Honduran migrant Ana Zuniga, 23, said she saw migrants open a small hole in concertina wire at a gap on the Mexican side of a levee, at which point U.S. agents fired tear gas at them.

‘We ran, but when you run the gas asphyxiates you more,’ she told the AP while cradling her three-year-old daughter Valery in her arms.

Mexico pledged to shore up security near its border with the United States and local authorities said that 39 migrants were arrested after a peaceful march devolved into chaos.

‘Today, several migrants threw projectiles at the agents in San Diego,’ Customs and Border Protection tweeted on Sunday

Mexico’s Milenio TV also showed images of several migrants at the border trying to jump over the fence.

Yards away on the U.S. side, shoppers streamed in and out of an outlet mall.

U.S. Border Patrol helicopters flew overhead, while U.S. agents held vigil on foot beyond the wire fence in California.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen also tweeted that the tear gas followed attacks on U.S. border personnel

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer tweeted on Sunday: ‘It is critical that U.S. and Mexican federal leaders work together to safely resolve the migrant crisis’

The Border Patrol office in San Diego said via Twitter that pedestrian crossings have been suspended at the San Ysidro port of entry at both the East and West facilities.

All northbound and southbound traffic was halted.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer tweeted on Sunday: ‘It is critical that U.S. and Mexican federal leaders work together to safely resolve the migrant crisis.

‘Our way of life relies on a safe, secure and functioning border.

‘From travel to shipping to daily commutes between San Diego and Tijuana, it is essential to our community.’

Earlier Sunday, several hundred Central American migrants pushed past a blockade of Mexican police who were standing guard near the international border crossing.

They appeared to easily pass through without using violence, and some of the migrants called on each other to remain peaceful.

They convened the demonstration to try to pressure the U.S. to hear their asylum claims and carried hand-painted American and Honduran flags while chanting: ‘We are not criminals! We are international workers!’

A second line of Mexican police carrying plastic riot shields stood guard outside a Mexican customs and immigration plaza.

Mexican police scramble to form a blockade as they try to stop migrants from reaching the border with the U.S.

American Customs and Border Protection officers form a barrier behind rows of barbed wire to stop the migrants entering

Members of the migrant caravan run for cover after U.S. officers fired tear gas at them during clashes at the border

People attempting to cross in the U.S. look on as the San Ysidro port of entry stands closed at the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday

Officials run in a staging area in the San Ysidro port of entry on Sunday

Mexico’s Federal Police officers are seen through the smoke of tear gas thrown by the U.S. Border Patrol to disperse Central American migrants

Migrants try to push past Mexican police on the Mexico-U.S. border at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana on Sunday

Migrants, part of a caravan of thousands traveling from Central America en route to the United States, run to cross Tijuana river near the border wall

Police cars form a roadblock across the San Ysidro border crossing after it was completely closed to all traffic

People trying to cross into America from Mexico through legal checkpoints wait by their cars after the border was shut

Pedestrians trying to cross into the U.S. at the San Ysidro port of entry wait for it to be reopened following clashes

Central American migrants yell through the border wall as they are confronted by an American Border Patrol Agent

A Honduran migrant speaks to U.S. guards after tear gas and rubber bullets were used to repel some who tried to cross

American border agents handcuff a migrant who tried to cross into the country illegally on Sunday

A migrant is seen holding rocks in his hands moments before throwing them at U.S. border guards near Tijuana

Migrant families, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America, look to cross the border into the United States

A balaclava-clad man covers his face after tear gas was used to repel an attempted border crossing from Mexico to the US

That line of police had installed tall steel panels behind them outside the Chaparral crossing on the Mexican side of the border.

Migrants were asked by police to turn back toward Mexico.

Irineo Mujica, who has accompanied the migrants for weeks as part of the aid group Pueblo Sin Fronteras, said the aim of Sunday’s march toward the U.S. border was to make the migrants’ plight more visible to the governments of Mexico and the U.S.

‘We can’t have all these people here,’ Mujica told The Associated Press.

Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum on Friday declared a humanitarian crisis in his border city of 1.6 million, which he says is struggling to accommodate the crush of migrants.

U.S. President Donald Trump took to Twitter Sunday to express his displeasure with the caravans in Mexico.

‘Would be very SMART if Mexico would stop the Caravans long before they get to our Southern Border, or if originating countries would not let them form (it is a way they get certain people out of their country and dump in U.S. No longer),’ he wrote.

Mexico’s Interior Ministry said Sunday the country has sent 11,000 Central Americans back to their countries of origin since Oct. 19. It said that 1,906 of them were members of the recent caravans.

Mexico is on track to send a total of around 100,000 Central Americans back home by the end of this year.

Earlier on Sunday, Nielsen tweetedSunday: ‘This AM, @CBP was forced to close the #SanYsidro POE to ensure public safety in response to a large # of migrants seeking to illegally enter the U.S.

‘@DHS will not tolerate this type of lawlessness & will not hesitate to shut down POEs for security reasons.

‘We’ll seek to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who destroys federal property, endangers our frontline operators, or violates our sovereignty.

‘#CBP along w other DHS, federal, state & local law enforcement, & the @DeptofDefense, have a robust presence along the SW Border and at our POEs. We remain in close contact with Mexican authorities and are committed to resolving this situation safely in concert with them.’

In a later tweet, she condemned members of the caravan throwing objects at border personnel. She wrote: ‘Today CBP (Customs and Border Protection) personnel were struck by projectiles thrown by caravan members.

‘Such actions are dangerous & not consistent w peacefully seeking asylum. The perpetrators will be prosecuted. I will continue to aggressively support DHS personnel as they work to safely secure our border.’

Migrants cross the river at the Mexico-U.S. border after pushing past a line of Mexican police at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana on Sunday

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers walks along a wall at the border between Mexico and the United States, as seen from San Diego

A migrant waves a Honduran flag as U.S. border patrol agents stand guard, seen at left through the fence

Migrants peer through the border wall after pushing past Mexican police at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana

A person walks at the San Diego Outlets mall that sits near the U.S.- Mexico border wall in San Diego

Migrants move up a riverbank at the Mexico-U.S. border after getting past a line of Mexican police at the Chaparral border crossing

U.S. border agents stand guard a the Mexico-U.S. border after migrants pushed past Mexican police at the Chaparral crossing

The shadows of migrants are cast on the railroad tracks at the Mexico-U.S. border in Tijuana

A Central American migrant wrapped in a U.S. flag looks at the almost dry riverbed of the Tijuana River near the El Chaparral border

An official walks along the empty lanes of Interstate 5, where it reaches the San Ysidro port of entry, after closing the port Sunday

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The mayor of Tijuana has declared a humanitarian crisis in his border city and says that he has asked the United Nations for aid to deal with the approximately 5,000 Central American migrants who have arrived in the city

A large group of migrants gather in Tijuana to try to cross the El Chaparral border crossing on Sunday

Mexico’s Interior Ministry said Sunday the country has sent 11,000 Central Americans back to their countries of origin since Oct. 19. It said that 1,906 of them were members of the recent caravans

Mexico is on track to send a total of around 100,000 Central Americans back home by the end of this year

Irineo Mujica, who has accompanied the migrants for weeks as part of the aid group Pueblo Sin Fronteras, said the aim of Sunday’s march toward the U.S. border was to make the migrants’ plight more visible to the governments of Mexico and the U.S.

Many hope to apply for asylum in the U.S., but agents at the San Ysidro entry point are processing fewer than 100 asylum petitions a day

On Friday night, a mother-of-two was impaled after she tried to scale a U.S.-Mexico border fence in San Diego.

According to U.S. Border Patrol, the 26-year-old woman from Guatemala was with her two children, aged three and five, when she climbed the fence near the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that she climbed a fence east of the port and where construction crews were putting up a new barrier to replace the old fencing.

The mother lost her balance and fell, and pieces of rebar pierced her side and buttocks.

Border Patrol told the Union-Tribune that it was dispatched to give medical aid around 8.30pm and asked for help from the San Diego Fire Department.

The woman was taken to the hospital by paramedics with non-life threatening injuries.

FULL TEXT OF STATEMENT BY HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY KIRSTJEN NIELSEN ON BORDER CHAOS

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is seen above speaking to reporters at Bordersfield State Park in San Ysidro, California on Tuesday

This morning, CBP was forced to close the San Ysidro Port of Entry to ensure public safety in response to large numbers of migrants seeking to enter the U.S. illegally.

After being prevented from entering the Port of Entry, some of these migrants attempted to breach legacy fence infrastructure along the border and sought to harm CBP personnel by throwing projectiles at them.

As I have continually stated, DHS will not tolerate this type of lawlessness and will not hesitate to shut down ports of entry for security and public safety reasons.

We will also seek to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who destroys federal property, endangers our frontline operators, or violates our nation’s sovereignty.

CBP, along with other DHS law enforcement, federal law enforcement, the U.S. military and state and local law enforcement, will continue to have a robust presence along the Southwest Border and at our ports of entry to prevent illegal entry or violence.

We continue to stay in close contact with Mexican authorities and we remain committed to resolving this situation safely in concert with our Mexican partners.

Her children were also evaluated for trauma and, when they were cleared, were released to the custody of Border Patrol.

No information was available on whether the woman was planning to claim asylum in the U.S.

Border Patrol Agent Eduardo Olmos told City News Service that the woman told agents she was not part of the migrant caravan that arrived in Tijuana last week.

‘Entering our country illegally, particularly over our walls is not only dangerous, but also very foolish,’ San Diego’s Chief Border Patrol Agent Rodney Scott said on Saturday.

‘This woman placed her own life and her children’s lives in peril. She could have easily died if not for the quick response by our agents and EMS.’

Lurbin Sarmiento, 26, of Copan, Honduras walked back to the sports complex with her 4-year-old daughter shaken from what had unfolded a short time earlier at the Tijuana River and U.S. border.

She had been at the bottom of the river – a concrete riverbed conveying a trickle of water – near the border with her daughter when U.S. agents fired tear gas.

Sarmiento said: ‘We ran, but the smoke always reached us and my daughter was choking.’ She added she never would have gotten that close with her daughter if she thought there would be gas.

President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Mexico it ‘would be very smart’ if the country stopped migrant caravans ‘long before’ they get to the U.S. border

Their denial surfaced less than an hour after Trump tweeted that migrants wouldn’t be allowed to cross into the United States while they were applying for asylum. He also threatened to close the border ‘if necessary’ following years of abuse

Marchers gather in San Diego to protest in support of the migrant caravan and against Trump’s policy of shutting them out

Hundreds of marchers in San Diego demand that the migrants be allowed to enter America during a protest on Sunday

The gas reached hundreds of migrants protesting near the border after some of them attempted to get through the fencing and wire separating the two countries.

Officials say the rebar was part of ongoing construction and not related to the U.S. military’s recent mission to fortify the fence from the caravan.

Trump on Sunday continued to comment on the hot-button topic of his administration’s immigration policy.

The President reacted to a 60 Minutes segment which found that the family separation policy, in which migrant children were detained separately from their parents, was implemented earlier and in greater numbers than was originally acknowledged.

Trump claimed that the family separation policy was initially implemented by the Obama administration, though this is incorrect.

’60 Minutes did a phony story about child separation when they know we had the exact same policy as the Obama Administration,’ the President tweeted.

Trump on Sunday continued to comment on the hot-button topic of his administration’s immigration policy

‘In fact a picture of children in jails was used by other Fake Media to show how bad (cruel) we are, but it was in 2014 during O years.

‘Obama separated children from parents, as did Bush etc., because that is the policy and law.

‘I tried to keep them together but the problem is, when you do that, vast numbers of additional people storm the Border.

The President reacted to a 60 Minutes segment about the controversial family separation policy

On Saturday, Trump claimed on his Twitter account that he and the incoming Mexican government agreed to a hold asylum seekers south of the border while their claims were processed in U.S. courts.

Trump tweeted on Saturday: ‘Migrants at the Southern Border will not be allowed into the United States until their claims are individually approved in court.

‘We only will allow those who come into our Country legally. Other than that our very strong policy is Catch and Detain. No ‘Releasing’ into the U.S…

‘All will stay in Mexico. If for any reason it becomes necessary, we will CLOSE our Southern Border.

‘There is no way that the United States will, after decades of abuse, put up with this costly and dangerous situation anymore!’

Trump’s tweet comes after Mexican officials said there was ‘no agreement of any type’ between its Government and the United States that will require asylum seekers to wait in the country while their claims move through U.S. courts.

Olga Sanchez Cordero, the top domestic policy official for president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador who takes office on December 1, ruled out that Mexico would be declared a ‘safe third country’ for asylum claimants.

This followed a Washington Post report of a deal with the Trump administration known as ‘Remain in Mexico,’ which quoted her calling it a ‘short-term solution.’

The plan, according to the newspaper, foresees migrants staying in Mexico while their asylum claims in the United States are being processed, potentially ending a system President Donald Trump decries as ‘catch and release’ that has until now often allowed those seeking refuge to wait on safer U.S. soil.

Their denial surfaced less than an hour after Trump tweeted that migrants wouldn’t be allowed to cross into the United States while they were applying for asylum. He also threatened to close the border ‘if necessary’ following years of abuse.

Meanwhile an investigation by the Miami Herald revealed that the political violence in Honduras, which has contributed to an exodus of migrants, was sometimes carried out with U.S. made weapons used by the government’s paramilitary force.

The Honduran military police should not possess U.S.-made rifles sold under private arms licensing agreements, according to the State Department.

Alejandra Martínez, who is now part of the migrant caravan, was targeted by a gang in Honduras who opened fire on him and a group of his friends.

‘We know that the guns come from the United States,’ Martínez told the Miami Herald at the time of the bloodshed.

‘These guns have no business in Honduras. They should stay in the United States. They are sending them to Honduras to kill us.’

More than a dozen people were shot and killed by the military police in the post-election violence, including several children, according to United Nations investigators.

Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum (left) has criticized Donald Trump (right) for threatening to close the border entirely if ‘it gets to a level where we are going to lose control’

Reports emerged that Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obradorhad agreed to allow migrants to stay in Mexico as a ‘short-term solution’ while the U.S. considered their applications for asylum but they were dismissed earlier today

More than 30 were wounded by the paramilitary unit, a repressive force that answers directly to the Honduran president.

The migrant caravan that left Honduras in mid-October was mostly well received by the towns it passed through along the way to the border.

Even cities with few resources made sure the migrants had food and a place to rest.

But in those places, the caravan stayed at most two nights with the exception of Mexico City.

In Tijuana, many of the migrants who are fleeing violence and poverty are seeking asylum in the United States and face the prospect of spending months in the border city before they have the opportunity to speak with a U.S. official.

Gastelum said Friday that the Mexican government has talked about sending 20 tons of resources to Tijuana to help but that three-fourths consisted of materials to reinforce the border and only 5 tons were for the migrants.

The mayor also criticized the federal government for not taking more seriously Trump’s threat Thursday to shut down the border if his administration determined Mexico had lost ‘control’ of the situation in Tijuana.

Illegal Caravans Encouraged by Honduras and Soros

Just in time for the midterms, another “spontaneous” migration from Central America began with a bevy of allegedly oppressed and downtrodden Hondurans leading the way. Pressured by a threat from President Trump to cut aid to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador if the caravan is not stopped, some moves by these governments have been made. Yet evidence exists that these migrations are not spontaneous, with both of the governments in question encouraging them as a political and economic safety valve and a source of foreign currency, financed in part by foreign leftists with connections to George Soros.

As Fox News’s Laura Ingraham noticed in a tweet, this is not a walk in a national park, but an expensive and arduous journey:

Leftist billionaire George Soros is funding the well-organized anti-Trump migrant caravan invasion from Central America that has been hitting the United States-Mexico border in defiance of immigration enforcement.

Several major ultra-liberal foundations and corporations have supported the asylum-seeking migrant caravans, and Soros’ funding has been tied to several groups that have spearheaded the “refugee” invasion coalition – also dubbed “the Soros Express.”

“The caravan is organized by a group called Pueblo Sin Fronteras, [b]ut the effort is supported by the coalition CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project, which includes Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLIN), the American Immigration Council (AIC), the Refugee and Immigration Center for Education and Legal Services (RICELS) and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) – thus the acronym CARA,” WND reported. “At least three of the four groups are funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.”

The hands of the Honduran government are not clean in these efforts. Among the alleged asylum-seekers parked on the U.S. border is a contingent of Hondurans, allegedly fleeing persecution, poverty, crime, and oppression. If that is the case, why is the Honduran government helping them, driving them northward under orders given to the Honduran ambassador, who is helping and escorting them?

Leaders of a caravan of Central American migrants traveling toward the United States through Mexico have repeatedly accused the Honduran government of corruption and with failing to address the poverty, crime and economic conditions forcing families to flee by the thousands.

So it shocked some observers when the Honduran ambassador joined the migrants protesting outside the Honduran embassy in Mexico City on Wednesday, and then accepted their invitation to walk 9 miles to a migrant shelter.

“I have been ordered by my government to support the Honduran migrants traveling with the caravan. There are about 200 Hondurans who we will help out with paperwork and whatever is necessary,” Alden Rivera Montes, the Honduran ambassador to Mexico, told El Universal.

Ordered by my government? Why is the country whose oppression they are allegedly fleeing helping them leave? The answer is remittances, the money sent back home by so-called “migrants.” Asylum is in large part a colossal scam designed to provide Latin American countries with a political and economic safety valve and a cash cow of foreign exchange. In 2017, remittances sent back to Honduras totaled $4.33 billion and make up a significant part of the Honduran economy:

Within the span of a few short decades, migrants have become an essential engine of economic support for Honduras. Remittances comprised 17 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011, according to World Bank estimates, the second largest share of any country in Latin America or the Caribbean. As such, Honduran emigrants have tremendous significance for the country’s economy and for the sustenance of many otherwise impoverished communities and families.

Talk about a trade imbalance. We import alleged asylum-seekers and other illegal aliens, and they send home billions sucked out of a benevolent U.S. government and economy. We have an economy that has some 7.3 million jobs going unfilled because of a shortage of skilled workers. Judging from photos of the latest caravan, one would suggest a paucity of welders, pipefitters, electricians, and long-haul truck-drivers.

Inner-city blacks have long asked which country they get to go to to escape violence and poverty. Although President Trump is succeeding in fighting crime and increasing job opportunities in our urban areas, much remains to be done. We do not need to be importing low-wage and low-skilled competitors to American citizens to drive down poor workers’ wages. Inner-city residents have long asked, where’s our sanctuary?

Unlike the children of Central America, arriving en masse, the children of Chicago, facing conditions every bit as horrible, have no border to cross to seek asylum or refuge[.] …

“Do something for our children,” said one of the protesters in a video posted at the blog Rebel Pundit. “Have the same love for these young people like you got for the ones across the border, and you want to save them.” …

A woman, identified only as Elaine, explained the plight of inner-city Baltimore residents on Laura Ingraham’s radio show: “My children cannot play outside. I cannot take my trash out without locking the door – it’s awful. Who is going to give us anything? Where can I get asylum? Where can I get refugee status?”

Where, indeed? Perhaps this side of a border wall Democrats oppose in favor of sanctuary cities and Medicare for illegal aliens. If any of the alleged asylum-seekers want to learn a trade – how about a crash course in border wall construction? Build it, and they won’t come.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investor’s Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.

Just in time for the midterms, another “spontaneous” migration from Central America began with a bevy of allegedly oppressed and downtrodden Hondurans leading the way. Pressured by a threat from President Trump to cut aid to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador if the caravan is not stopped, some moves by these governments have been made. Yet evidence exists that these migrations are not spontaneous, with both of the governments in question encouraging them as a political and economic safety valve and a source of foreign currency, financed in part by foreign leftists with connections to George Soros.

As Fox News’s Laura Ingraham noticed in a tweet, this is not a walk in a national park, but an expensive and arduous journey:

Who is funding the migrant “caravan”? Each migrant’s passage can cost as much as $7K each. Per capita income Honduras is $2.3 K.

Leftist billionaire George Soros is funding the well-organized anti-Trump migrant caravan invasion from Central America that has been hitting the United States-Mexico border in defiance of immigration enforcement.

Several major ultra-liberal foundations and corporations have supported the asylum-seeking migrant caravans, and Soros’ funding has been tied to several groups that have spearheaded the “refugee” invasion coalition – also dubbed “the Soros Express.”

“The caravan is organized by a group called Pueblo Sin Fronteras, [b]ut the effort is supported by the coalition CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project, which includes Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLIN), the American Immigration Council (AIC), the Refugee and Immigration Center for Education and Legal Services (RICELS) and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) – thus the acronym CARA,” WND reported. “At least three of the four groups are funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.”

The hands of the Honduran government are not clean in these efforts. Among the alleged asylum-seekers parked on the U.S. border is a contingent of Hondurans, allegedly fleeing persecution, poverty, crime, and oppression. If that is the case, why is the Honduran government helping them, driving them northward under orders given to the Honduran ambassador, who is helping and escorting them?

Leaders of a caravan of Central American migrants traveling toward the United States through Mexico have repeatedly accused the Honduran government of corruption and with failing to address the poverty, crime and economic conditions forcing families to flee by the thousands.

So it shocked some observers when the Honduran ambassador joined the migrants protesting outside the Honduran embassy in Mexico City on Wednesday, and then accepted their invitation to walk 9 miles to a migrant shelter.

“I have been ordered by my government to support the Honduran migrants traveling with the caravan. There are about 200 Hondurans who we will help out with paperwork and whatever is necessary,” Alden Rivera Montes, the Honduran ambassador to Mexico, told El Universal.

Ordered by my government? Why is the country whose oppression they are allegedly fleeing helping them leave? The answer is remittances, the money sent back home by so-called “migrants.” Asylum is in large part a colossal scam designed to provide Latin American countries with a political and economic safety valve and a cash cow of foreign exchange. In 2017, remittances sent back to Honduras totaled $4.33 billion and make up a significant part of the Honduran economy:

Within the span of a few short decades, migrants have become an essential engine of economic support for Honduras. Remittances comprised 17 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011, according to World Bank estimates, the second largest share of any country in Latin America or the Caribbean. As such, Honduran emigrants have tremendous significance for the country’s economy and for the sustenance of many otherwise impoverished communities and families.

Talk about a trade imbalance. We import alleged asylum-seekers and other illegal aliens, and they send home billions sucked out of a benevolent U.S. government and economy. We have an economy that has some 7.3 million jobs going unfilled because of a shortage of skilled workers. Judging from photos of the latest caravan, one would suggest a paucity of welders, pipefitters, electricians, and long-haul truck-drivers.

Inner-city blacks have long asked which country they get to go to to escape violence and poverty. Although President Trump is succeeding in fighting crime and increasing job opportunities in our urban areas, much remains to be done. We do not need to be importing low-wage and low-skilled competitors to American citizens to drive down poor workers’ wages. Inner-city residents have long asked, where’s our sanctuary?

Unlike the children of Central America, arriving en masse, the children of Chicago, facing conditions every bit as horrible, have no border to cross to seek asylum or refuge[.] …

“Do something for our children,” said one of the protesters in a video posted at the blog Rebel Pundit. “Have the same love for these young people like you got for the ones across the border, and you want to save them.” …

A woman, identified only as Elaine, explained the plight of inner-city Baltimore residents on Laura Ingraham’s radio show: “My children cannot play outside. I cannot take my trash out without locking the door – it’s awful. Who is going to give us anything? Where can I get asylum? Where can I get refugee status?”

Where, indeed? Perhaps this side of a border wall Democrats oppose in favor of sanctuary cities and Medicare for illegal aliens. If any of the alleged asylum-seekers want to learn a trade – how about a crash course in border wall construction? Build it, and they won’t come.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investor’s Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.

We’re now just four months, practically speaking, from the effective launch of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary season. As soon as the 2018 midterm election is in the books — win or lose — you’ll probably see a handful of the dozens of prospective candidates making moves or even launching campaigns to challenge President Trump.

So as we do every quarter, we’re updating you on what the candidates have been up to and where they stand in our updated (and highly scientific) rankings.

Below is the latest installment of our top 15 contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. To see the last one, click here.

15. Oprah Winfrey: Oprah stays on this list because she’s Oprah and has clearly shown some interest. But she continues to suggest she won’t do it. “In that political structure — all the non-truths, the bulls—, the crap, the nastiness, the backhanded backroom stuff that goes on — I feel like I could not exist,” Winfrey told British Vogue this week. “I would not be able to do it. It’s not a clean business. It would kill me.” (Previous ranking: 14)

13. Sen. Sherrod Brown (Ohio): Despite being targeted by the GOP for defeat in his reelection campaign this year, he looks comfortable. He leads Rep. James B. Renacci (R) by double digits in all recent polls. As for 2020 signs? Apparently they have to wait. (Previous ranking: 10)

12. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo: The most recent Siena College poll has Cuomo actually widening his primary lead over former “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon; he led by 35 points. The primary is Sept. 13, and Cuomo’s performance could either kill or fuel his 2020 ambitions. (Previous ranking: 11)

Michael Bloomberg speaks at a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in April. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News)

10. Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg: Here we go again. The man who has threatened to run before as an independent is now reportedly considering running as a Democrat. And he’s putting $80 million behind Democratic candidates in 2018. This is my skeptical face — not only have we been down this road before, but Bloomberg is also among the oldest names on a list of already-quite-old candidates — he’s 76 now. His money would, of course, instantly make him a contender. (Previous ranking: N/A)

9. Former U.S. attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr.: A surprise entry on this list last time around, Holder traveled to New Hampshire recently and had this to say about challenging Trump: “Two guys from Queens. That would be interesting. New Yorkers know how to talk to other New Yorkers.” Hmmm. (Previous ranking: 12)

8. Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe: McAuliffe may be undertaking the most important 2018 job on this list: Trying to elect Democratic governors. Given the party’s deficit in many key states, winning governor’s races is vital to preventing another GOP-controlled round of redistricting that could put Democrats on their heels for another decade. That said, it’s not exactly high-profile work. (Previous ranking: 8)

Then-Gov. Deval Patrick in an interview at the Massachusetts State House in 2014. (Elise Amendola/AP)

7. Former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick: News about Patrick running keeps coming from people who seem to badly want him to run — rather than the prospective candidate himself. But he is hitting the campaign trail for Democrats and promising a decision by the end of the year. Patrick has been so quiet that people forget he’s there, but he’d instantly have a base of institutional support from Obama types. (Previous ranking: 9)

6. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.): Gillibrand remains one of the most likely candidates on this list, but her relationship with the Clintons is a big and potentially harmful subplot. Bill Clinton recently hit back after Gillibrand said, in retrospect, that he should’ve resigned the presidency in the late 1990s. “You have to — really ignore what the context was,” Clinton told CBS News. “But, you know, she’s living in a different context. And she did it for different reasons.” (Previous ranking: 6)

5. Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.): Booker recently offered some of his most extensive comments to date about 2020. The summation: He’s focused on reelecting Democrats in 2018 — and his travel schedule bears that out — and then he’ll see what happens. (Previous ranking: 5)

4. Former vice president Joe Biden: Polling this far out should be taken with a huge grain of salt if not outright ignored. But I suppose it’s worth something that Biden had the most people say they were open to voting for him in a new Vox Populi poll. That’s partially because of name ID, sure, but he was better off than Sen. Bernie Sanders and even others who were as well-known as he is. (Previous ranking: 3)

1. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.): Sanders for some reason keeps insisting he won’t become a Democrat. He announced recently that he’ll seek the Democratic nomination in his 2018 reelection campaign, but also that if (and when) he wins the nomination, he’ll turn it down. Given his clear interest in seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, it seems an unnecessary bit of partisan hairsplitting. (Previous ranking: 1)

Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images North AmericaDemocratic strategists are absorbing a big lesson from their electoral success this month — stay focused on economic issues and refuse to play on President Donald Trump’s turf.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton was happy to engage with Trump on issues like stopping refugees and banning Muslims, and she seized on opportunities to go after his temperament and denounce his insulting rhetoric.

She lost.

In 2018, Democrats largely ignored Trump’s provocations about the caravan of refugees in Mexico and a call to end birthright citizenship, and didn’t engage with most of his inflammatory talk delivered through a string of campaign rallies. Instead they focused on health care and economics, and won sweeping victories, taking control of the House and picking up seven governor’s mansions.

The laser focus on health care, Social Security and Medicare helped Democrats carry Republican strongholds in Orange County, California, and in the suburbs of Dallas and Oklahoma City. It lifted them to victory in all six gubernatorial and Senate races in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. If Democrats win those states and hold the ones Clinton won in 2016, they’ll win the presidency in 2020.

Don’t Engage

“The lesson for 2020 is that when he does and says outrageous things, assume that it’s on purpose and remember that you don’t need to fight every battle that he chooses,” said former Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon. “In 2016, we thought a lot of the fights he selected for himself were so obviously disqualifying that we were happy to lean into them and indulge some of the controversies he stoked.”

“We underestimated how much turnout he was able to generate in white rural areas by having extended fights on the issues he wanted,” Fallon said. In the midterms, though, “people didn’t give in to the conversation about the caravan. Democrats successfully sidestepped Trump’s attempts to make that the all-consuming issue.”

Embracing Trump’s Bluster

The uncomfortable lesson for Democratic strategists is that large areas of the country embrace Trump’s bluster and nationalist message centered on fears of illegal immigration, crime and globalization.

Donald Trump during a rally in Ohio.

Photographer: Maddie McGarvey/Bloomberg

Engaging with him on those terms, they say, merely helps that message break through to rural and working-class white voters — and prevents Democrats from reaching the more diverse and less-frequent voters they rely on.

It’ll be tougher for Democrats in 2020 to ignore Trump when he’ll be on the ballot, said Dan Pfeiffer, former adviser to President Barack Obama. The party will need “a Democratic candidate who is able to tell a clear and compelling story that doesn’t feature Trump as the main character,” he said.

“Trump’s greatest political strength is ability to move the political conversation off topics that matter to Democratic and swing voters and onto topics that excite his base,” Pfeiffer said in an email. “The challenge for the Democrats is not allow Trump to drive the conversation every day. We have to think creatively and strategically about how and what we communicate and do it with relentless discipline.”

After this month’s elections, the Democratic super-PAC Priorities USA commissioned a survey in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. It found that many voters are concerned about Trump’s temperament, but that such disenchantment doesn’t always translate to votes against him, because many support his policies, said Priorities USA Chairman Guy Cecil.

‘Taking Trump On’

The voters who backed Trump in 2016 and Democrats in 2018 were moved by substantive arguments, the survey found. Cecil said the party’s path to victory in 2020 requires winning some 2016 Trump voters, not by focusing on his temperament or language but by “taking Trump on right where it hurts for him.”

The Priorities USA poll found that health care will be the most important issue for Midwestern Trump-to-Democrat voters in deciding who to support in 2020. They also were moved by Democrats’ argument that Trump’s tax cuts will boost the federal budget deficit and ultimately lead to cuts in Medicare and Social Security.

Small Towns

Trump won the electoral college in 2016 by running up the score in small towns and rural areas in Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and the upper Midwest, while weak turnout for Clinton in the metropolitan areas of Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Detroit proved fatal to her campaign.

In 2018, upscale suburban areas saw a dramatic swing toward Democrats. White college graduates voted for Trump by 3 points in 2016 and House Republicans by 10 points in 2016; in 2018 they preferred House Democrats by 8 points, exit polls published by CNN show.

The suburban strength wasn’t enough to save Senate Democratic incumbents in deep-red North Dakota, Missouri and Indiana, although those states won’t get Trump close to winning re-election in 2020. And Florida, an electoral vote-rich swing state where Democrats lost governor and Senate races this year, reveals the party’s danger of getting crushed in rural areas with high concentrations of older, white and non-college-educated voters.

Narrowing the Gap

Democratic Senator Bill Nelson lost re-election in Florida and progressive star Andrew Gillum lost the governor’s race, both by narrow margins after recounts. Exit polls published by CNN showed that white voters without a college degree were pivotal — Gillum lost them by 30 points and Nelson by 31 points. They made up nearly 40 percent of Florida’s electorate.

Andrew Gillum

Photographer: Jayme Gershen/Bloomberg

Suburban-rural Pasco County in Florida, north of Tampa, epitomizes the problem for Democrats, said Steve Schale, who managed Obama’s successful 2008 campaign in the state. Obama lost the county by about 8,000 votes that year; Trump won it by 52,000 votes in 2016. Both Nelson and Gillum lost it by more than 30,000 votes in 2018.

“To win Florida we don’t have to win a lot of these places. We have to do a little better — take a county you lost by 40,000 votes and lose it by 35,000 votes,” Schale said. That means “signaling to these voters that we’re not going to contribute to the economic pressure they’re feeling in terms of your pocketbook.”

Michigan’s Republican Governor Rick Snyder, who’s leaving office after two terms, said in an interview that a lack of civility in campaign discourse contributed to Democratic victories in races for governor, Senate and House. Trump won Michigan in 2016 by less than 11,000 votes out of almost 4.8 million votes cast. Snyder said winning it in 2020 will require a message of “building bridges” rather than “finding conflict points.”

“I believe diversity is a positive power, not something that should divide people,” Snyder said.

Rick Snyder

Photographer: Sean Proctor/Bloomberg

Republican strategist Brad Todd said suburban areas will be key to Trump and the GOP’s prospects in 2020. Getting votes from Trump skeptics will require winning some economic debates against Democrats, he said.

“The battle has to be won by Republicans in the suburbs by getting voters who care a whole lot about the economy and taxes and crime and national security,” he said. The question for Trump, Todd said, is “How do I get those voters that have voted Republican their whole life but are not in love with me?”